Lex-Ham Community Theater presents ‘Days to Come’

The Lex-Ham Community Theater will present Lillian Hellman’s drama “Days to Come” in six performances this month at the Wellstone Center on St. Paul’s West Side. The play, directed by John Townsend, is set in 1930s Ohio, and it tells the story of a strike – and the discord it creates within a family-owned business, […]

Statewide labor convention opens with political call to action

Election-year politics dominated Day 1 of the Minnesota AFL-CIO’s 51st Constitutional Convention in Rochester yesterday, as speakers, including U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, urged delegates to take action in support of labor-endorsed candidates up and down the Nov. 6 ballot. Klobuchar, whose campaign for a second term has the state labor federation’s endorsement, said unions will […]

Union leaders applaud Supreme Court decision upholding Affordable Care Act

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act, announced today, keeps the country moving toward a health care system that ensures affordable, high-quality coverage for all Americans, Minnesota’s union leaders said. The court’s narrow, 5-4 decision to keep intact the landmark 2010 law, known as “Obamacare,” drew cheers from workers, retirees, students […]

Workers will protest archdiocese for dissolving Catholic Spirit union

The Twin Cities labor community will rally behind workers at The Catholic Spirit newspaper Sunday, protesting Archbishop John Nienstedt’s decision to strip 13 workers at the archdiocesan publication of their union rights. The protest will begin at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, June 24, at the Cathedral of St. Paul. It is being organized by the St. […]

Archdiocese strips Catholic Spirit workers of their union contract

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is moving forward with plans to dissolve the bargaining unit of workers at its official newspaper, The Catholic Spirit, when their current collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of this month. In an overhaul intended “to create a more integrated communications function,” the Archdiocesan Office of Communications […]

St. Paul City Council to consider resolution against corporate personhood

The St. Paul City Council will consider a labor-backed resolution opposing corporate personhood at its meeting Wednesday, June 13. Council Member Dave Thune, who authored the resolution, said he expects it to pass. Organizers with the Move to Amend coalition in St. Paul are planning a rally and press conference at 3:40 – 10 minutes […]

Dakota County legislators dodge community meeting on school funding

A group of Dakota County residents convened a community meeting in Burnsville May 12, hoping to give people an opportunity to ask their legislators questions about things like school funding and property taxes. Unfortunately, not one of the area’s legislators acted on the invitation to attend, leaving the roomful of concerned parents, school district employees […]

Immigrant workers march on Wells Fargo, accuse bank of betraying their communities

Hundreds marched through the streets of downtown Minneapolis on May 11, protesting the recklessness and hypocrisy of Wells Fargo’s dealings with Minnesota’s immigrant community. The march capped a weeklong string of “Occupy”-style protests across the Twin Cities. Organized by the Service Employees union (SEIU) in partnership with several progressive, faith-based and labor groups, the “99 […]

Union reaches tentative agreement with The Saint Paul Hotel

After six months of unusually bitter contract negotiations, union workers at The Saint Paul Hotel will vote May 17 on a tentative agreement with the company on a new three-year contract. Leaders of UNITE HERE Local 17, the union that represents about 170 workers at the downtown hotel, are recommending members vote to accept the […]

With time running out at the Capitol, unions plan rally for jobs

Before adjourning the 2012 legislative session, Minnesota lawmakers could act on a pair of bills that, if passed, would create nearly 50,000 family-sustaining jobs. But on Tuesday it appeared Republican majorities in the House and Senate were more preoccupied with saving their own. By law, the session must adjourn by May 21. That means the […]